JPH07303162A - Fax machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The capacity of the image memory is effectively used to efficiently avoid waste of recording paper due to printout of unnecessary image information. [Structure] Each image information sent from a plurality of transmission sources is accumulated in an image memory 3, and the accumulated image information is read out based on an output instruction inputted by an operator through an operation panel 6. In the facsimile apparatus which reads out by 4 and prints out by the printing unit 5 and erases from the image memory 3 after printing out, image information from a previously specified sender is displayed as an image without waiting for an output instruction from an operator. A print control unit 7 for reading out from the memory 3 and sending it to the printing means 5 is provided so that the image information from a specific transmission source which is surely printed out is not stored in the image memory 3 for a long time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention accumulates image information sent from a plurality of sources in a large-capacity image memory and reads out only the image information required by an operator from the image memory. The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus that can print out and print unnecessary image information from an image memory without printing out. In particular, a facsimile machine suitable for efficiently avoiding waste of recording paper due to printing out unnecessary image information. It relates to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a general facsimile machine, all received documents are printed on recording paper and output, so that image information unnecessary for the user (operator) such as facsimile mail received from an unspecified number of people. Is also printed out, and the recording paper is wasted. As a conventional technique for avoiding waste of recording paper due to printing of such unnecessary image information, for example,
There is a so-called "unsolicited fax prevention function". In this "nuisance FAX prevention function", a plurality of destinations (sources) are set and registered on the receiving side in advance, and reception from other than the set and registered source is not accepted. However, with this "nuisance FAX prevention function", when image information from a sender who is not registered is required, the operator has to make new settings in advance, which is troublesome. Furthermore, since the number of senders that can be set and registered in advance is limited, in order to receive from an unregistered sender when the registered number is full, it must be replaced with another registered sender.

As a conventional technique which can avoid waste of recording paper due to printing of unnecessary image information without such a problem, there is, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-63881. In this technology, all the image information stored in the image memory is displayed on the screen before being printed out, and the operator is allowed to judge whether or not the image information needs to be printed out so that only the necessary image information is selected. Can be printed out. However, in this technology, all received image information is
Since the data is stored in the image memory, the capacity of the image memory becomes full in a short time. After the image memory is full,
Even the necessary image information cannot be received.

[0004]

The problem to be solved by the present invention is that, in the prior art, all the received image information including necessary information and unnecessary information is stored in the image memory, so that the capacity of the image memory is short. It is filled with time and it is not possible to receive the necessary image information sent after that, and whether the received image information should be printed out or not can be automatically selected at the time of reception. What you can not do and whether each image information stored in the image memory should be printed out,
It is that it cannot be automatically selected on a regular basis, and that it cannot automatically register a specific sender whose image information should always be printed out. An object of the present invention is to solve these problems of the prior art, and avoid waste of recording paper due to printing of unnecessary image information without hindering reception of necessary image information sent from an unspecified number. It is to provide a possible facsimile machine.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention (1) stores each image information sent from a plurality of senders in the image memory 3, and stores each of the stored image information. A facsimile apparatus in which image information is read by a reading unit 4 based on an output instruction input by an operator via an operation panel 6, is printed out by a printing unit 5, and is erased from the image memory 3 after the printing is output,
It is characterized in that a print control unit 7 is provided which reads out image information from a previously specified transmission source from the image memory 3 and sends it to the printing unit 5 without waiting for an output instruction from the operator. (2) In the facsimile apparatus described in (1) above, the print control unit 7 includes an identification information extraction unit 8 that reads out the identification information of the transmission source sent from the transmission source at the time of an incoming call, and an operator in advance. A source storage unit 9 for storing the identification information set by the source identification unit 10 for determining whether or not the identification information read by the identification information extraction unit 8 is stored in the source storage unit 9; Based on the discrimination result by the transmission source discriminating unit 10, an image information transmitting unit 11 for transmitting the image information from the transmission source whose identification information is stored in the transmission source storage unit 9 from the image memory 3 to the printing unit 5 is provided. It is characterized by having. (3) In the facsimile apparatus described in (2) above, the print controller 7a includes the image memory 3
An identification information retrieval unit 12 that reads out the identification information of the transmission source of each image information accumulated in the image information at a predetermined time interval, a transmission source storage unit 9 that stores the identification information set by the operator in advance,
Based on the discrimination result by the transmission source discriminating unit 10 that discriminates whether or not the discrimination information read out by the discrimination information searching unit 12 is stored in the transmission source storage unit 9, the discrimination information is transmitted. An image information sending unit 11 for sending the image information from the sender stored in the original storage unit 9 from the image memory 3 to the printing unit 5 is provided. Further, (4) in the facsimile apparatus according to (2) or (3), the printing unit 5 reads the read data through the reading unit 4 based on an output instruction from the operator.
A transmission source setting unit 14 for setting the transmission source identification information of the image information printed in 1. in the transmission source storage unit 9 is provided. (5) In the facsimile apparatus according to any one of (2) to (4) above, the sender storage unit 9 is
A common part (so-called wild card) of a plurality of pieces of identification information is stored, and the sender discriminating unit 10 determines whether a part of the sender identification information matches a wild card stored in the sender storage unit 9. It is characterized by determining whether or not. (6) In the facsimile apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5), the image memory 3 has an area for accumulating image information from a specific source and image information from other sources. And a region for accumulating the data are separately provided.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a specific source that is frequently used for communication is registered in advance, and image information sent from this specific source is received or received at a predetermined time. The printout is always performed at intervals, the printout is erased from the image memory, and the printout necessity determination control is performed only for image information from other sources. By this,
By effectively utilizing the capacity of the image memory, it is possible to store more image information that is the target of print output determination, and to receive the necessary image information sent from an unspecified number. There is no hindrance. In particular, the image information sent from a specific source is stored in the dedicated area of the image memory, so even if a large amount of image information from an unspecified source is stored in the image memory, It is possible to receive image information from and print out. In addition, the source of the image information that has become print-needed as the target of the print output necessity determination is automatically stored as a specific one. As a result, the setting operation by the operator becomes unnecessary. Further, by using the wild card registration, it is possible to specify more senders.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the configuration of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a communication control unit for controlling transmission / reception of image information to / from another facsimile apparatus, 2 is a scanner for reading image information from a document to be transmitted, 3 is each image information received by the communication control unit 1, and An image memory for accumulating image information read by the scanner 2, a reading unit 4 for reading image information to be printed from the image memory 3 based on a print output instruction from an operator, and an image information 5 read by the reading unit 4. A print unit for printing and outputting, an operation panel 6 for an operator to input each instruction, a print control unit provided for performing print output control according to the present invention, and
This is a sender setting unit.

With such a configuration, the facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment stores the image information sent from a plurality of senders in the image memory 3, and stores the stored image information in the operation panel. Based on the output instruction input from the operator via 6, the reading unit 4 can read the data and the printing unit 5 can print it out. This image information can be printed out via the printing unit 5 without waiting for an output instruction from the operator. That is, the print control unit 7 receives the TSI (Tans) as the identification information of the transmission source sent from the transmission source via the communication control unit 1.
Mitting Station Unique
ation, CCITT / International Telegraph and Telephone Fingerprint Committee Recommendation (Sender terminal identification defined in the standard in 30)
An identification information extraction unit 8 that reads out a signal when an incoming call arrives, a transmission source storage unit 9 that stores a TSI preset by the operator via the operation panel 6, and a TS that is read out by the identification information extraction unit 8.
I is stored in the source storage unit 9 and a source determination unit 10 that determines whether or not the TSI is stored in the source storage unit 9 based on the determination result by the source determination unit 10. And an image information sending unit 11 for reading the original image information from the image memory 3 and sending it to the printing unit 5,
By providing the print control unit 7 having such a configuration, the facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment performs the operation shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the facsimile apparatus in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. If there is an incoming call (step 201), the received image information is stored in the image memory 3 (step 202), and the TSI is read out by the identification information extraction unit 8 (step 20).
3). The source determination unit 10 determines whether the read TSI is stored in the source storage unit 9 (step 204). If it is not stored, the processing is terminated while the received image information is stored in the image memory 3, but if it is stored, the image information sending unit 11 reads the corresponding image information from the image memory 3 and the printing unit. 5 (step 205). Then, by the printing unit 5,
Print out the sent image information (step 206),
The printed image information is erased from the image memory 3 (step 207). As described above, in the first embodiment, if the image information is from a previously specified transmission source, it is automatically printed out and erased from the image memory 3 without waiting for an output instruction from the operator. . As a result, the image memory 3
It is possible to save the capacity, and it is possible to accumulate a larger amount of image information from a non-specific transmission source that is a target for determining the necessity of print output. It should be noted that a part of the capacity of the image memory 3 is set as an area dedicated to image information from a specific transmission source so that image information from a specific transmission source can be surely received and printed out.

As a result of the determination in step 204, when the processing is ended while the image information to be received is stored in the image memory 3, the image information stored in these image memories 3 will be described in the prior art. Based on the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 638881, print output control of only necessary image information is performed. That is, the operator displays each image information stored in the image memory on the screen by a predetermined key operation, determines whether or not the image information needs to be printed out, and extracts the unnecessary image information from the image memory. At the same time as erasing, necessary image information is selected and printed out. The image information printed out in this manner is erased from the image memory 3. At this time, the facsimile apparatus of the first embodiment in FIG.
In step 2, the TSI of the sender who has transmitted the image information selected for print output is automatically set in the sender storage unit 9.
This reduces the operator's load associated with setting the TSI in the transmission source storage unit 9. Also, TSI is CCI
TT Recommendation T. It is a standard in H.30, and by using this TSI signal as identification information, it is possible to support the device of the transmission source of another manufacturer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the configuration of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention according to the present invention.
The facsimile apparatus of the second embodiment is provided with a print control unit 7a instead of the print control unit 7 in the facsimile apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and at a predetermined time interval and in place of TSI. The print control operation according to the present invention is performed based on the identification information such as the name of the destination. That is, the print control unit 7a replaces the identification information extraction unit 8 of FIG. 1 with the identification information of the transmission source of each image information from each image information stored in the image memory 3 at predetermined time intervals. The identification information retrieval unit 13 for reading is provided. Then, in the print control unit 7a, the transmission source storage unit 9
Stores the identification information as a wild card, and the transmission source discriminating unit 10 discriminates whether or not a part of the identification information read by the identification information searching unit 13 is stored in the wild card of the transmission source storage unit 9. To do.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the facsimile apparatus in FIG. 3 according to the present invention. If there is an incoming call (step 401), the received image information is stored in the image memory 3 (step 402). When the predetermined time has elapsed (step 403), the identification information search unit 13 reads the identification information of the sender of the image information stored in the image memory 3 (step 404). The sender discriminating unit 10 discriminates whether or not a part of the read identification information is stored as a wildcard in the transmitter storage unit 9 (step 405). If not remembered,
Although the processing is ended as it is, if the image information is stored, the image information sending section 11 reads the corresponding image information from the image memory 3 and sends it to the printing section 5 (step 406). Then, the printing unit 5 prints out the sent image information (step 407) and deletes the printed image information from the image memory 3 (step 408).

As described above, in the second embodiment, if the image information from the source specified in advance is automatically printed out at a predetermined time interval and erased from the image memory 3, The capacity of the image memory 3 can be saved, and a large amount of image information from a non-specific transmission source that is a target for determining the necessity of print output can be stored. Further, since the identification information is stored in the sender storage unit 9 as a wild card,
For example, each department having the same company name can be dealt with by one piece of identification information, and more senders can be identified. In addition, the area of the image memory should be divided into a specific source area and other areas in advance, and there should always be a space in the specific source area so that image information from a specific source area can always be received. To do. Note that, as a result of the determination in step 405, when the processing is terminated while the received image information is stored in the image memory 3, the subsequent processing is the same as the processing after the determination result in step 204 described in FIG. is there.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, in the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment, a specific sender is identified and specified based on identification information such as TSI sent from the sender. The image information sent from the sender is printed out without waiting for the output instruction input by the operator. As a result, the image memory can be effectively used only for storing the image information that is the target of the print output determination, and does not prevent the reception of the necessary image information sent from an unspecified large number. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, even in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the TSI is used as the identification information.
Wild cards can be used by using the name of the other party instead of. Further, the trigger for the print output of the image information from the specific transmission source is every reception or at a predetermined time interval, but it may be based on the remaining capacity of the image memory.

[0015]

According to the present invention, image information from a specific source which always sends image information that needs to be printed can be automatically printed and erased from the image memory. The image memory can be effectively used only for storing the image information that is the target of print output judgment, and unnecessary image information can be printed without hindering the reception of the necessary image information sent from an unspecified majority. It is possible to avoid waste of the recording paper due to. In particular, whether or not the received image information should be printed out can be automatically selected at the time of reception, and the operator can immediately obtain necessary information. In addition, it is possible to prevent the overflow of the image memory capacity by selecting whether the received image information is to be printed out or not, and automatically performing the printing output based on the result at the specified time interval. The printing operation of the image information can be made efficient by continuously printing out the image information from the sender. In addition, the source of the image information once printed out,
Since the registration is automatically performed, it is possible to reduce the load on the operator regarding the registration of a specific sender. Further, by allocating a partial area of the image memory to a specific source, the amount of accumulated image information from an unspecified source does not affect the reception of image information from a specific source. The print output can be reliably performed. In particular, when printing out immediately upon reception, a small area of the image memory allocated for a specific sender is made small, and a large area is allocated for accumulating image information that is the target for determining whether or not to print out. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the configuration of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the facsimile apparatus in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the configuration of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the facsimile apparatus in FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Communication Control Section 2 Scanner 3 Image Memory 4 Reading Section 5 Printing Section 6 Operation Panel 7 Printing Control Section 8 Identification Information Extraction Section 9 Source Storage Section 10 Source Identification Section 11 Image Information Sending Section 12 Source Setting Section 13 Identification Information Search department

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. Image information sent from a plurality of transmission sources is accumulated in an image memory, and the accumulated image information is read out based on an output instruction inputted by an operator and printed out by a printing means. In a facsimile device that erases from the image memory after printing out, image information from a prespecified transmission source is read from the image memory and sent to the printing means without waiting for an output instruction from the operator. A facsimile machine provided with a print control means. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control means sets identification information extracting means for reading out the identification information of the sender sent from the sender at the time of incoming call, and preset by an operator. A source storing means for storing the identified information, a source determining means for determining whether or not the identification information read by the identifying information extracting means is stored in the source storing means, and the source Image information sending means for sending the image information from the sender whose identification information is stored in the sender storage means from the image memory to the printing means based on the result of the judgment by the judging means. And a facsimile machine. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control means includes identification information retrieval means for reading out the identification information of the transmission source of each image information stored in the image memory at a predetermined time interval. A source storage unit for storing the identification information set by an operator in advance, and a source determination unit for determining whether or not the identification information read by the identification information retrieval unit is stored in the source storage unit. And image information sending means for sending the image information from the sender whose identification information is stored in the sender storage means from the image memory to the printing means based on the discrimination result by the sender discriminating means. A facsimile machine comprising: 4. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the identification information of the sender of the image information read and printed based on the output instruction from the operator is used as the identification information. A facsimile apparatus, characterized in that it is provided with a sender setting means to be set in a sender storage means. 5. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission source storage means is
The common part of the plurality of pieces of identification information is stored, and the sender discrimination means judges whether or not a part of the sender identification information matches the common part stored in the sender storage means. Facsimile machine characterized by: 6. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image memory has an area for accumulating image information from the specific sender and image information from other senders. And a storage area for storing each of the facsimile data.